


I saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus!

by Pr3ttyM3ssy



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Adoption, Christmas Fluff, Family Feels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 13:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21970048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pr3ttyM3ssy/pseuds/Pr3ttyM3ssy
Summary: Christmas time is  a special tie for little Charlotte and her adoptive fathers, Steve and Billy. But what happens when your curiosity gets the better of you. For little Charlotte it equals a whole lot of confusion.*Authors Notes at the end of the chapter. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	I saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus!

For Steve and Billy, Christmas had become a special time since they became parents of a beautiful little girl they named Charlotte. They were determined to make each year special. When they had first adopted her, she was just a couple months old. Their first Christmas as a family was beautiful, but the wonder still wasn’t there. She was a baby and not yet aware of what the meaning of Christmas really was. Steve had mentioned to Billy that he wanted to be a father. Billy took some convincing due to his lack of a good fatherly figure, but he eventually came around. He would do anything to make Steve happy, so they signed the papers. They did the extra work, to make sure that she came home with them. Their Christmases after wards where never short of magical. Watching their little girl grow, with every passing year until she turned 5.  
With the time passing, she also became more curious. With school teaching them all the Christmas carols and coming home with a craft for Daddy Steve and Papa Billy. This years’ in particular had been of a construction paper Santa cut out and his beard was made of cotton balls. They gushed over it and what a good job she had done as they proudly hung it on the fridge. Picking out the Christmas tree was her favorite Christmas pass time. As well as decorating the house. She was so full of the holiday spirit, she brought out the best in both Billy and Steve. Specially since they both had lacked in the family department, so they made sure each tradition was special. Then it happened, that fated day that she asked the ever-infamous question that every curious child asks.  
“Daddy? Why can’t we see Santa when he comes on Christmas Eve?” her little voice cuts through Steve’s hazy mind. He’s been so busy with Billy planning the big Christmas party that was their turn to host. They had done it the year prior at Joyce and Hopper’s place. All of Charlotte’s aunts and uncles had been there, and they always took a vote on who’s place the next party would be at. To their luck, it was their year to host. Steve was an excellent host, and he was so caring and precise that he made sure everything was planed accordingly. So, when she innocently asked her question, he was caught off guard.  
“Well Charlie, Santa is magic you know. He wants to make sure he comes and goes super fast so that he can deliver all the toys to the little boys and girls around the world on time. So, we can’t see him when he arrives”. He hoped that would be enough to appease her little curious mind until the following morning. Once she would see the presents under the tree, she would completely forget everything about it.  
“Okay Daddy. But…”, she is cut off by the rattling of keys at the door.  
“Papa is home and he missed his little princess dearly!”, Billy’s timbering voice came through the hall along with the winter chill as he closed the door behind him and carefully removed his snow-covered boots. He had been at the store buying the last-minute items Steve had requested.  
“Papa!”, Charlotte ran to Billy’s awaiting arms as he dropped the bags on the kitchen counter. She left Steve in the living room where she had been helping him with the final Christmas decorations. Steve made his way over with a smile, gave a chaste kiss on his husband’s lips before he got started on making the Christmas Eve dinner.  
Charlotte thought of asking Papa Billy the same question she had asked her Daddy but decided otherwise. There would be time to ask during bedtime.

The Christmas Eve party had been nothing short of fun. Uncle Lucas and Auntie Max had come with their little son Aaron. He was only a year younger than her and her only cousin, yet at least.  
“Mad Max, you made it! Sinclair bring it in!” Billy greeted them when they came by the door.  
“Uncle Billy!” little Aarons voice came in. He looked a lot like his father, but he had inherited his mother’s blue eyes and her button nose.  
“Hey! Champ! Come here” his little arms wrapped around Billy’s shoulders. They hugged and gave their Christmas wishes as the rest of the party trickled in. Auntie Robin with Auntie Heather. Uncle Mike and Auntie Jane. Grandpapa Hopper and Grandma Joyce, according to Charlotte. She had never met her Papa’s father, so he said that them both had been the closest parental figures he had. They followed suit with Uncle Will and Jonathan and Auntie Nancy with her very pregnant belly. Last but not least Charlotte’s favorite Uncle Dustin came in with a white stuffed bear in hand.  
“Uncle Dusty!” Charlotte lunged herself toward the young man.  
“Princess Charlie! Merry Christmas little pawdawan. I brought you a gift.”  
He handed the bear to Charlotte. The bear was white with a blue velvety nose and a ocean blue ribbon tied around its neck. It had an embroidered blue and lilac colored snowflake on its belly. She loved it.  
“This is only your first present; can you keep that secret from your Dad?”  
“I heard that Henderson, you’re trying to spoil her rotten.” Steve came by to hug the man who was like the little brother he never got.  
He smiled down at Charlotte, completely ignoring her father and winked at her. Charlotte went into a fit of giggles and ran towards little Aaron who had been sitting in front of the TV watching the Christmas specials.  
She sat next to her cousin as she played with her teddy bear and thought of asking him too.  
“Hey Aaron, have you ever seen Santa in real life?  
“I saw Santa at the mall today with mommy, she took me to take pictures with him and ask him what I wanted. I asked him for a toy car” he said proudly.  
“Well daddy says that he’s magic and that we cant see him at night because he comes and go’s super-fast. I’m gonna try and see if I can catch him tonight” she whispered excitedly at him.  
“Okay, can I come too?”  
“Ok. We have to be very careful not to wake up the adults though. We have to be sneaky, like ninjas”  
Aaron gave an affirming nod and then it was time for Christmas Dinner.  
=================================================================================================  
Once dinner was finished and they had all had their desserts, it was time for them to open their presents. The children were the first to open theirs. Charlotte received a couple pretty dresses from her Auntie’s Heather and Robin. The Sinclair’s had gifted her clothing as well and a scooter so she could be cool like her Aunt MadMax with the promise of also showing her a couple tricks. Aaron got presents as well and with enthusiasm opened each one. After that, they watched a couple Christmas specials while the adults chatted.  
Aaron began to go between consciousness and sleep. Charlotte noticed and she nudged him from under the blanket they had draped over them selves.  
“Aaron, remember we have to stay awake. We wont be able to see Santa" she whispered to him.  
“Did I hear you correctly, young lady?” Billy sauntered over to his little daughter and booped her in the nose.  
“Santa won’t come if you’re awake, remember? He’s sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake? It’s like the golden rule kiddo" he said matter factly.  
“But Papa…”  
“No buts Charlie, now come on its bedtime anyway. Aaron is snoozing as we speak.”  
And in fact he was already laying his head on the pillow that he once used to prop his elbows while watching TV. Charlotte just sighed and let Papa Billy whisk her away in his arms towards her family to give good night hugs and kisses and up to her room.  
He tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and walked towards the door.  
“Good night baby girl and sweet dreams. Also no funny business or remember you might get a lump of coal. Love you sweetheart”, and then the door was shut.  
She could still hear her family talking downstairs, and the soft lull of voices had her eyes closing.  
She slept for a short time until she heard jingling come from near the foyer. She looked at the clock on her wall and immediately jumped out of bed. It read 2am and she was afraid she might be to late. She ran towards the guest rooms where she knew Aaron was still sleeping and whispered his name.  
“Aaron?….psst Aaron.”  
“W-whaat?”, he whispered back. He sleepily rubbed his eyes trying to find her silhouette coming from the slightly opened door.  
“Its Santa, come on.”  
He slowly and quietly made his way towards the door, so as not to wake his mom and dad. They slept unbeknownst to the children’s current plan.  
The tiptoed their way to the foyer, quietly going down the stairs that lead to the living room where they could easily see the Christmas Tree. There near the chimney stood the tall man in a red suit. He was currently munching on a sugar cookie that her and Aaron had left behind for him with love.  
“Oh my god, I can’t believe it. Its really him" she nudged her cousin.  
“I know, this is crazy!” he whispered excitedly.  
They stared for a while, watching Santa unloading the presents. Until something caught their attention. A familiar voice, softly cut through the silence and they could not believe what they saw next.  
“So Mr.Claus, do you do this often. Come down random chimneys in the middle of the night. Should I be worried"  
“Only if there is a pretty boy like your self waiting for me under the mistletoe” the man responded, low and unrecognizable. He had blue eyes and a lop sided grin under that beard.  
Charlotte was sure she must be dreaming. But once Aaron met her gaze, identically confused and bewildered. She knew she wasn’t.  
“That’s my daddy and he’s making those eyes he makes at my papa to Santa"  
“Eww gross, but what about Uncle Billy?”  
They kept watching both Steve and Santa interact.  
“Oh my word, sir I am a happily married man. I am afraid you have me mistaken"  
Santa grabbed more like yanked Steve towards him until he was flush against him.  
“Well pretty boy, its tradition. You’re not going to tarnish tradition are you? And look as luck would have it, we’re right under it right now? You gotta kiss for Santa?”  
Steve giggle under his breath.  
“Well I guess one won’t hurt.”  
Then it happened, they kissed for a good amount of time. They eventually had to come back for air.  
Charlotte, slack jawed whispered, “Daddy is kissing Santa Claus…”  
“Ooooh Uncle Billy is gonna be soo mad when he finds out"  
“How could he Aaron!? While papa is upstairs sleeping"  
She was more in shock than hurt. How was she going to face her father’s in the morning knowing the big secret. Daddy had kissed Santa Clause while Papa was sleeping. She wasnt sure if she would be able to sleep after all this.  
“Charlie, we should go back to our beds. We might get caught if we stay here. I don’t want to get in trouble with my mom and dad,” Aaron broke her from her trance. It seemed that her Dad and Santa were no longer kissing but just in each other’s embrace. It was almost loving, and she just felt so betrayed. Before she could feel anything else, she just decided to follow behind Aaron and going back to her bed. Safe to say that she didn’t sleep very well after.  
6am in the morning and Aaron runs into her room. He climbs excitedly onto her bed and start jumping up and down.  
“Charlie! Charlie, come on Santa left presents after smooching uncle Steve!”  
“uuugh …okay let’s go”  
Aaron booked it down the stairs while Charlie followed behind at a slower pace. They received everything they wanted. Aaron’s toy car as well as other choice items. Charlie had asked for some dolls and a basketball so she could play with Papa Billy. But even with all she received she couldn’t help but still feel down, after all its not every night you catch your Dad cheating on his spouse and with a fairy tale figure none the less.  
“Good morning Kids! Merry Christmas!”, Billy’s voice cut through Charlie’s thoughtful mind and made her little heart sing. He hugged Charlie and kissed her cheek while he gave Aaron a playful knuckle bump to his cheek.  
“Good morning everyone! Aww Charlie you already opened your presents”, Charlie turned at Steve’s voice and her stare instantly went icy and dismissive.  
“Hey there, if looks could kill,” Billy said sarcastically as he kissed Steve good morning.  
“Yea seriously, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?”, Steve smiled. Charlie didn’t budge just looked away.  
“Okaay, how about we make some breakfast for everyone. Your Aunts and Uncles will be coming down soon.” Steve walked towards the kitchen and started with warming up a pot of coffee and working on making food for everyone.  
“Alright Charlie, come on now spit it out. Something not to your liking? Santa didn’t bring you what you wanted, cause you know we don’t like selfish children in this house,” Billy sat Charlie down at the table. Since he became a father and married Steve, he’d been better at communicating and being patient.  
“No papa!..that’s not it. I love my presents…I’m just…”, she grew silent. Not sure how to continue. The pressure of the secret was becoming too much for her to handle.  
“Well that was a seriously death glare you were giving to Dad. Are you angry with us? Did we do something?”, he continued. His blue eyes soft and it broke her heart to see him sad. He will be so devastated.  
“I….uh. I… I saw Daddy kissing Santa last night”, she whispered.  
“….Come again?”  
“I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus! Me and Aaron sneaked a peak at Santa last night. We thought we could maybe catch him before he left but, Daddy was there, and he kissed Santa under the mistletoe.” Her eyes were sprouting tears, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Billy was silent and Steve, who had been drinking coffee, was recovering from the inevitable spit take he had.  
Robin and Heather were coming down the stairs, the smell of coffee summoning them.  
“What is this I hear; my Charlie bear saw Stevie here kissing Santa. You poor thing, your probably scarred for good.”  
“Buckley you’re not really helping the issue here”, Billy sighed as he looked Robin’s way. Heather chose to keep quiet and stand next to Steve while she nursed her own cup of freshly poured coffee.  
Billy just turned back and looked at his daughter in the eyes, he just wanted to hug her and hold her to him. How was he going to break it to her that it was actually okay that Daddy had kissed Santa, because he was Santa. He looked to Steve for help but Steve just ran his fingers through his hair like he usually did when he was processing thoughts. So he just did what he did best, play along.  
“So you saw your Daddy kissing Santa. Steve babe, how could you?”  
Steve stood slack jawed. “Ummm, he was under the mistletoe. Tradition?”  
“I will forgive you if you promise not to do it again” Billy gave Steve a stern yet playful look. If only to keep the façade from Charlotte.  
“I promise cross my heart and hope to catch something.”  
“Okay, all is forgiven. And Charlotte now you also know that your curiosity should not get the better of you alright.”  
Charlotte looked from Billy to Steve, it was all forgiven.  
“So, it’s really okay?”  
“Yes princess, I love your Daddy so much that I will forgive this one-time.”  
He hugged her and told her that everything was okay and that she should not be mad at Steve. Charlotte felt better afterward. Her and Aaron ate with their family and they played with their toys after breakfast. Then Aaron asked her, “are we doing this next year?” to which she responded with a big shake of her head. She was not about to find something else due to her curiosity. Ignorance was bliss after all.  
While the kids played, Steve and Billy lounged on the sofa. They still couldn’t believe that they had almost been caught by their 5-year-old daughter. Billy cracked a smile and whispered to Steve, “Yea next year your definitely Santa”.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my little holiday one shot. Sorry if the ending felt like it left alot to be desired. Im still rusty. I was suppose to have posted this Christmas Eve morning but for one thing or another I just could not. This little one shot was inspired by listening to Christmas Carols none stop every day. As per the title, heavily taken from the song "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" the Jackson 5 ver. 
> 
> I've been away on a long hiatus since my last one shot and its been difficult to come back to writing. As much as I love it, I still lack in confidence for myself and my stories. However, I love this ship and the community it created. You are all so talented, and it inspires me to keep practicing. Ill try to find time between my two jobs and taking care of my two year old (its not easy and sometimes it kind of puts a damper on my writing mood). Let me know how I did, and if you have any comments on how I could improve, I totally appreciate it.


End file.
